About the Artist

Iwan Effendi (b. 1979) is an artist and puppeteer based in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. His artistic practice spans painting, drawing, puppet-making, and performance, grounded in narrative and emotion. He is one of the founders and artistic directors of Papermoon Puppet Theatre, a puppet studio and collective based in Jogjakarta which also organises Pesta Boneka, an international biennale of puppet-related practitioners. Iwan’s puppets are famous for their signature expressionless, naive faces, which invite viewers to project their own emotions upon them and their own interpretations of their narratives. 

Iwan has exhibited all around the world. Notable recent solo exhibitions include articulate (2024, Mizuma Gallery, Tokyo), preload (2023, Mizuma Gallery, Singapore), Daydreaming Face (2021, Ruci Art, Jakarta), Face to Face (2019, Mizuma Gallery, Singapore), Eye of the Messenger (2011, Yavuz Gallery, Singapore), and Two Shoes for Dancing (2009, Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur). He has participated in group exhibitions across Bulgaria, Singapore, Australia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, France, Japan, the USA, and Mexico. He has been a resident artist with the Kochi Museum of Art, Japan (2015), Federation Square Melbourne (2014), and the Asian Cultural Council in New York (2009–10).